Electronic devices are often used to create or manipulate an electronic document, such as, a presentation, a spreadsheet, a graphic image, a letter, a memo, or the like. An operator of such an electronic device is often able to image the electronic document in a single imaging format using a single imaging command. However, the operator often needs to image the electronic document in multiple imaging formats, such as, a color image format, a transparency image format, a bond paper image format, and the like. In order for the operator to image the electronic document in multiple image formats, the operator must reconfigure the selected image forming device for each desired imaging format.
The burden of imaging multiple formats of an electronic document requires the operator to reconfigure the image forming device for each desired imaging format and to submit a separate imaging request to the image forming device once reconfigured. Oftentimes to avoid the repetitive burden of reconfiguring the image forming device for each desired imaging format, the operator simply avoids imaging the electronic document in multiple imaging formats. For example, the operator may image five color sets of the electronic document when only one color copy is required, or may image multiple copies of the electronic document on a particular imaging medium, such as bond paper, when only one image copy is required on bond paper.
In addition, an operator that wishes to image the electronic document on one or more image forming devices must submit an individual imaging request to each image forming device. The burden of having to submit multiple imaging requests to multiple image forming devices often results in the operator issuing only a single imaging request and subsequently hand carrying the imaged electronic document to the other desired image forming devices to complete the imaging process. For example, the operator using the electronic host device images the electronic document on a first image forming device, such as a printer. When the printer has completed the image forming operation, the operator then hand carries the imaged electronic document to the facsimile machine to perform a facsimile transition, and in like manner, to the xerographic copier for producing additional copies of the imaged electronic document.